There is no new initiative being planned, it was simply a suggestion made by the Met Police commissioner when addressing a Parliamentary committee yesterday. The medical profession has dismissed at as 'complete nonsense'.

There is no new initiative being planned, it was simply a suggestion made by the Met Police commissioner when addressing a Parliamentary committee yesterday. The medical profession has dismissed at as 'complete nonsense'.

I can understand why certain professions would want testing. I seem to recall in the dim and distant one of the places I worked for reserved the right to test for certain drugs at short notice but they never actually did it.

The factory where my friend works is American-owned and exercises its contingency to do random drugs-testing. Admittedly, the results take a few days to come back, but machinery and doped up workers don't make an easy fit.

Apart from the H&S implications to those operating machinery or driving this idea (and, ATM, it's only an idea) could be on dodgy legal ground. It is my understanding, and correct me if I'm wrong, it is possession of illegal substances that is against the law not their consumption.

"it is a well known fact that those people who most want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it."

Apart from the H&S implications to those operating machinery or driving this idea (and, ATM, it's only an idea) could be on dodgy legal ground. It is my understanding, and correct me if I'm wrong, it is possession of illegal substances that is against the law not their consumption.

I know of one guy who had alcohol hidden in the yard of a factory and who would swig it during shifts. Furthermore, he would operate fork trucks. He was sent home at least once for being under the influence of alcohol. Furthermore, drugs were found at least once inside the factory.

I can understand why certain professions would want testing. I seem to recall in the dim and distant one of the places I worked for reserved the right to test for certain drugs at short notice but they never actually did it.

My missus is an analytical chemist and tests urine for various dioxins (yes she does take the #### for a living). They often need a clean sample to check the machines are working properly so she uses her own. She did used to use her male colleagues for this but they couldn't rely on the sample being 'clean'.

Apart from the H&S implications to those operating machinery or driving this idea (and, ATM, it's only an idea) could be on dodgy legal ground. It is my understanding, and correct me if I'm wrong, it is possession of illegal substances that is against the law not their consumption.

http://www.hse.gov.uk/alcoholdrugs/index.htm

Carlsberg don't do Soldiers, but if they did, they would probably be Brits.

Having worked in the nuclear industry most of my life I just accept D&A testing as normal nowadays. Having said that in all my working life (40+ years) I have only once been picked out for a random test (1 hr notice). I passed .
For my current employer (non-nuclear) it is mandatory to have at least one (planned) test each year and then there is the possibility of random tests during the year.
I therefore don't drink through the week but tend to get leathered Thurs, Fri, Sat . I have never taken drugs other than alcohol and fags so the other stuff doesn't concern me.